Facebook plans satellite broadband delivery

Facebook plans to launch a satellite next year to test a system that would provide ultra-high-speed internet to the 3bn-plus people not yet on the web.

A company called PointView Tech, which seems to be a new Facebook subsidiary, according to IEEE Spectrum, filed an experimental licensing application to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week asking for authorization to "launch and operate a single Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), Nongeostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellite."

According to the application, the satellite is called Athena and its main communications payload links "will operate in the little-used E-band spectrum – 71-76 GHz for the downlinks, 81-86 GHz for the uplinks."PointView's request also includes two Earth stations. The application reads:

"PointView's request for experimental authority also encompasses two earth station that will conduct E-band communications with the satellite. The mission will be to determine whether such satellite communications can effectively provide broadband access to unserved and underserved areas throughout the world."

Facebook did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but the company has long been interested in millimeter-wave systems.